The Price of Divine Power

“Moreover, your power is incredibly pure.”

“So pure, in fact, that it carries not a single impurity, as if it belonged to a deity themselves.”

That’s right.

For any species, the magical energy used to cast spells originates from the deity they worship.

Every spell, every piece of magic, is merely a dismantling of divine power, a clumsy imitation of a deity’s miracles.

To cast god-tier spells without any cost… this truly feels like a divine masterpiece, personally orchestrated by a god.

“You… just who exactly are you?”

…

‘Who exactly am I?’

Seraphina burst into laughter.

She was originally a commoner from an unknown place.

Her parents were farmers, incredibly short-sighted, and her education consisted solely of beatings and scoldings. Before she turned eighteen, she had always toiled under the sun, never even attending school.

The sole exception was her status as a ‘transmigrator,’ and the immensely powerful supportive [Divine Blessing] she possessed.

But what else was there? Due to the side effects of this [Divine Blessing], she couldn’t even attend school, and everyone shunned her. It wasn’t until Iqiyah picked her up that her miserable life finally turned around.

Yes, truly, judging solely by this [Divine Blessing], she might indeed have been watched by a deity.

But this deity… for eighteen years, where exactly had they been?

“I am no sacred being.”

Seraphina looked calmly at Godia. For some inexplicable reason, the very word ‘sacred’ now repulsed her.

“I am merely an ordinary person who received a small, insignificant favor, yet has always been at the mercy of fate, with a difficult life.”

“…An ordinary person?”

If Seraphina had made any other gesture, Godia might have still harbored doubts, wondering if she was fabricating a lie.

However, this profound calm was authentic, a tranquility only those who had truly experienced helplessness could manifest.

There was not a single trace of affected pretense.

Yet, for Godia, none of that truly mattered.

What held significance was that he had finally glimpsed a ray of hope, a potential path for the Scarlett family to emerge from its current predicament.

“By the way… can we resume our previous discussion?”

Like God creating Adam, or a drowning man desperately grasping for a lifeline, Godia extended a hand towards Seraphina.

“Where were we?”

“Cardo said she heard the True Ancestor’s voice from within her…”

Godia closed his eyes, his thoughts drifting back to that fateful night ten millennia ago.

****

“Father.”

“Do not worry yourself, my daughter.” Godia gently patted Cardo’s shoulder. “It is a good thing that you can hear the True Ancestor’s voice.”

“It signifies that the True Ancestor is speaking with you, that she favors you—you are constantly in her thoughts.”

“No… Father.”

Unlike Godia’s relaxed demeanor, Cardo tugged fiercely at her white hair, her heart consumed by an unbearable anxiety.

“I… I can feel something gradually taking over my mind…”

“I’m terrified…”

“How can that be, my daughter?” Godia frowned deeply. “Your mind is your own; how could anything else possibly invade it?”

Upon hearing her father’s words, Cardo’s pupils began to tremble.

“…Do you not understand what I mean?”

Her voice involuntarily grew louder, tinged with desperation.

She knew, with chilling certainty, that her father was deliberately avoiding something crucial.

“I feel it’s the True Ancestor… she’s usurping my mind, taking over my very being…”

“You are forbidden to speak such words again.”

Godia’s voice rose several octaves, forcefully cutting Cardo off mid-sentence.

“The True Ancestor… she is the True Ancestor of our bloodline.”

“She loves the bloodline; she loves every single one of us.”

“Father!”

Cardo flared up in a surge of anger.

“Such lies might fool Iqiyah, but barely! You were a direct participant in that conflict!”

“Mother! And most of our family died in that conflict! Even after losing so much, are you still willing to be blindly loyal to the True Ancestor?”

“…Cardo.”

In stark contrast to Cardo’s agitation, Godia’s face became utterly devoid of expression, and his voice reverted to its previous calm.

However, compared to his earlier raised tone, this renewed tranquility was distinctly more chilling, more unnerving.

“Go to the confinement room! Do not come out for three days!”

“You wield the power granted by the True Ancestor, yet you show no gratitude whatsoever…”

“It is precisely because I wield the True Ancestor’s power that I know what kind of person she truly is!”

Even when faced with her father’s severe punishment, Cardo stubbornly voiced her defiance, unwilling to back down.

“Iqiyah! Father! Think about Iqiyah!”

“She’s still so young! What happens to me doesn’t matter, but she…”

“Confinement extended to seven days. Another word, and it will be a month!”

Godia turned his back, refusing to look at Cardo any longer.

Gazing at her father’s retreating back, Cardo knew, with a heavy heart, that she could never persuade her stubborn, foolish father.

‘No… this cannot be.’

Iqiyah’s tender, adorable face appeared in Cardo’s mind, but the mere thought of the fate that might await her pierced Cardo’s heart like a thousand needles.

‘No… I must protect Iqiyah.’

‘My mind has already been corroded by the True Ancestor; if left unchecked, being possessed is only a matter of time.’

‘Since my fate offers only the path of death, then perhaps… I should use this life to fight one last time.’

‘For Iqiyah…’

****

“What were you thinking back then?”

“At that time…” Godia was clearly ashamed to speak, his voice barely a whisper. “I was thinking that I had already signed a contract with the True Ancestor…”

“She had already obtained the eternal, inexhaustible life of our Scarlett family; she couldn’t possibly overstep her bounds further…”

“What about the conflict?” Seraphina deliberately provoked the father who had made such a grave mistake, her tone light and mocking.

“My question is the same as Cardo’s—what about the conflict?”

“If I’m not mistaken… so many people died, and it involved the True Ancestor… that conflict probably wasn’t a mere dispute between the Scarlett and Redster families, but rather a direct confrontation between the True Ancestor and a dissenting faction within the bloodline, wasn’t it?”

…

No matter how fiercely Godia maintained his silence, it was utterly futile.

Seraphina had already seen through everything with her special [All-Seeing Eye].

Countless years ago, a faction of the bloodline, spearheaded by the Redster family, had gradually amassed significant power.

They grew increasingly dissatisfied with the True Ancestor’s absolute authority within the bloodline. Consequently, they raised the banner of rebellion, engaging in a bitter struggle against the True Ancestor and the bloodline families loyal to her, primarily the Scarlett family.

The outcome was devastating: the True Ancestor was severely weakened, the Scarlett family teetered on the brink of collapse, and, of course, the Redster family fared no better.

Following this mutually destructive battle, an agreement was finally forged within the bloodline, leading to the formation of the Royal Court Council.

And so, the era of the True Ancestor came to an end.

But the True Ancestor would not simply fade away into history.

“That night, I regretted being so harsh with Cardo, so I personally brought food and went to the confinement room to visit her…”

“But I never expected…”

In Seraphina’s perception, Godia’s breathing seemed to cease entirely, his gaze vacant, as though his very soul had departed his body.

He had never imagined that the conflict that evening would be his last encounter with Cardo.

That night, Cardo was nowhere to be found in the confinement room.

****

Meanwhile, deep beneath the Scarlett Manor.

“I heard that after the conflict, you sought refuge beneath the manor.”

“I never imagined the legend was true.”

This was an underground chamber unknown even to Cardo herself.

Rather than a mere basement, it was a colossal underground cavern.

Within, grand rivers, cascading waterfalls, and vast lakes flowed with vibrant blood.

Innumerable blood-red crystals, formed from congealed blood, clustered together, leading to a long, narrow crimson carpet. At its end stood a black throne, constructed from dark, ancient stones.

The True Ancestor, the nameless True Ancestor, lay completely bare, her luminous white skin exposed, languidly reclining upon the throne. She gazed down upon the offending offspring who dared to stand before her.

Gathering the power originating from the True Ancestor, Cardo walked towards her, ready to face death without hesitation.

“Hey, True Ancestor, your days of casually usurping Scarlett lives are over!”

“Give back the lives of the Scarletts!”